Dynamic pricing doesn’t just boost the bottom line — it transforms organizations. And it can do this for live event organizations of any size or type.
Take Titusville Playhouse in Florida, for example. With an annual budget of $2 million, they implemented dynamic pricing last year working with Vatic and brought in an additional $300,000 in ticket revenue. The impact? Staff received raises, four paid and housed interns joined the team, and one of their theaters got brand-new seating. Patrons, employees and the community all reaped the rewards, proving that better pricing strategies can create a ripple effect of positive change.
Attendees will learn this and more in the INTIX 2025 session, “Dynamic Pricing for Smaller Organizations: It Can Work for You Too!” on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 10:45 a.m. EST.
“From our conversations with mid and small organizations, we know that a lot of them think that dynamic pricing isn’t something they could embark on,” says Sean Kelly, Founder of Vatic. “We want to provide real-world examples from organizations that have implemented dynamic pricing and thrived.”
Sean Kelly
Kelly will be joined at INTIX 2025 by experts Courtney Ilie, Associate Director of Sales at Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Stephanie Cabacoy, Director of Marketing and Development at American Shakespeare Center, and Daniel Palmieri, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Grand in Philadelphia.
“[Attendees will] get to hear from peers who face the same struggles that they do,” says Kelly. “The panelists will delve into how their organization started dynamic pricing, the evolution of that process, and the results they’ve experienced most recently.”
Kelly says, “When you work at a smaller organization, it is easy to fall into comparing yourself against the whopper-size metropolitan arts venue. But your buyers aren’t attending those venues. To them, you are the important venue, and when you realize this, then you can start to align your prices with the real value that your patrons place on the organization.”
Indeed, this session will demonstrate that dynamic pricing works beyond large organizations, mega concert tours and popular performing arts programming.
“It’s really not limited to a particular discipline,” Kelly emphasizes. “We work very successfully with theaters, ballet companies, orchestras, operas and performing arts centers. There is benefit there for everyone.”
In addition to sharing their successes, the panelists will take attendees step-by-step through the process of implementing dynamic pricing and quantify its potential impact on their organizations. They will also discuss the importance of building consensus among essential parties on the need for dynamic pricing.
“I think the biggest lesson is the importance of gaining alignment among key stakeholders within the organization,” says Kelly. “Without that foundation, even if you are successful with your dynamic pricing, it can be perceived as not being successful.”
Kelly adds, “The vast majority of prices are determined by folks inside of the organization. But they are not the ones buying tickets. At the end of the day, the only opinion that matters about ticket prices is the patron’s opinion. Dynamic pricing is a way to discover that.”
Attendees do not need any advance knowledge or experience to benefit from this session.
“The learnings are for folks no matter what stage they are at,” says Kelly. “If you’ve done some dynamic pricing already, you’ll learn how to take the next step. If you’ve wanted to try dynamic pricing, we’ll be discussing how to get started.”
As Kelly emphasizes, dynamic pricing is relevant for all entertainment organizations. Small and mid-sized arts organizations are a big deal for their patrons, and attending shows is worth more to them than you may realize. Dynamic pricing also significantly benefits the organizations that implement it as a strategy.
“Arts [and other] organizations are still businesses, and they require money to run. If there’s a bit more money they can bring in, that helps everyone,” says Kelly.
He adds, “Working in the arts [and live events] can be incredibly rewarding, but it also has times when it can really beat you down. The goal of the session is to provide a window into a practice that can have incredible impact for your organization, and ultimately, make your life a little better.”
Editor’s Note: If you are not registered for the 46th Annual INTIX Conference & Exhibition in New York City, what are you waiting for? Click here to register today!
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